


Mr. Vampire's Old Records

by Noise (noisepollution)



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Childhood Memories, Developing Friendships, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, One Shot, Paranormal Investigators, Pining, not rly childhood friends but that's when they met, one sided attraction on eichi's part if you want to read rei's feelings as platonic, their entire town is haunted
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-06
Updated: 2019-11-06
Packaged: 2021-01-24 08:50:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21335530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noisepollution/pseuds/Noise
Summary: It's fine if Rei doesn't remember him and it's alright that it took a haunted town to push them together, Eichi is just happy to be by his side once more.
Relationships: Sakuma Rei/Tenshouin Eichi
Comments: 8
Kudos: 17





	Mr. Vampire's Old Records

**Author's Note:**

> *poses* this turned out ok i think. i thought of this au last month and i haven't stopped thinking+tweeting abt it so i wanted to actually make content for it. i decided to make rei talk like his 2nd year self but im not sure if i wanna keep that lol  
there's a little more info on my twitter so if ur interested u can check that out. lastly, this scene might change or be scrapped but rn it's a decent introduction for the au sooooo yh.
> 
> thats it i hope u find this au even remotely interesting.

Rei’s apartment was nothing special. 

In fact, Eichi would go as far as to say that it wasn’t very well kept; old wallpaper had lost its former function and was starting to come off, revealing the walls it once hid, while the floor was covered in moving boxes ready to be unpacked; whether it was because Rei just moved in or because he didn’t have the time and energy to finish, Eichi had no idea. There were only 3 other rooms with the one he was standing in right now being the living room and there, Rei gestured towards a worn-out sofa that had long lost its colour with a rack of what the blond presumed to be beer next to it.

“I apologise for it not being a royal throne, but us common folk have to make do.” As if he read his mind, the older boy teased him with a sarcastic tone that’s too playful to be hostile but is still unable to mask how exhausted he was from their long day.

“I admit, this is quite the humble suit, dear commoner. But I believe this would work just fine.” Eichi joked back in an attempt to lighten the mood and, since Rei smiled right back at him, it worked.

“That your way of sayin’ this place looks cheap?”

“Speaking from experience, sometimes the cheaper pleasures in life can overpower even the most expensive of luxuries.” 

He wasn’t lying; while it is true that the place could be cleaned up a bit, it felt more like home than his grand mansion ever did. Perhaps it was due to him being locked up in it his entire life, twisting his perception of the house, but the numerous rooms and size of the house became foreboding and he felt lost even when he had memorised the layout. It was as clear as day that his parents didn’t build a house, but a monument to show off their endless wealth. As they drowned in their riches, they forgot what made a home and what it truly meant to be a family.

Eichi sat down on the sofa and allowed himself to relax, but only slightly. No matter his disdain for it, he was still a Tenshouin and the closest thing to royalty you could get when you didn’t have noble blood, so needing to maintain composure and sophistication at all times was hardwired into his mind by family and servants alike; they couldn’t have the family name being soiled due to having a slob as an heir now, could they? Though Rei seemed confused at him for a while, he ended up shrugging it off and joining him on the couch. Right when he made himself comfortable, the differences between the two became as blatant as their clashing appearances. The older boy had positioned himself so that he was lying down as much as the sofa let him to the point where he was practically melting into it. If Eichi had been anything like his parents, he’d immediately have taken offence and would call the other boy rude and irredeemable, but since he was better than that, he found it endearing instead. Rei’s nonchalant attitude and refusal to sacrifice comfort or even ideals for meaningless etiquette was something Eichi admired ever since they met. To Rei, his behaviour is no big deal but to Eichi, it’s one of the many things that made him fall for him.

“Eichi.” His sharp voice pulled Eichi out of his lovesick thoughts and suddenly it felt like time stood still as the atmosphere of the room quickly became serious. “That trick you pulled today?”

The blond boy froze for a second. Even though he was in no danger, Rei’s words sent chills down his spine. He never called him by his first name, as he often referred to him as “hey you” or “sick boy, meaning that at this moment, Rei meant business.

After gathering the courage to speak up, he replied as controlled as he could: “Yes?”

“Don’t you  _ ever  _ do that again. You hear me?”

Eichi looked down at the hands resting in his lap. In their last endeavours, he had indeed been overly reckless but, unbeknownst to Rei, he could afford those risks. It was sweet how naive the other boy was, how he had no idea that  _ he  _ was the one needing protection, not Eichi. 

After all, Eichi was--

“Don’t just sit there.” Right as he replied, Rei’s concerned eyes betrayed his stern expression only for him to quickly fix that so they glared instead but it was too late, Eichi had seen straight through him.

“Alright, I hear you.” Eichi chuckled and put on his signature angelic smile. He wasn’t afraid of Rei hating him anymore now that he knew his true intentions. “I promise, I’ll be more careful next time.”

For a moment, Rei opened his mouth to probably regain his pride by telling Eichi he didn’t actually care, but he gave up and closed it without a word, realising that he wasn’t the one in control of this exchange. He then turned to stare at a black TV screen before moving on. “Who knew some shit like this would happen in this boring old town?”

“Who knew ghosts were actually real?” Up until now, Eichi had always been sceptical of the supernatural, but recent events had forced his beliefs to shift. In the end, his old friend was right.

“Right? I thought that if they were real, they would at least stay locked in some house but they seem to be loitering the streets too…” As he replied, he reached down next to him and grabbed a bottle from the rack that Eichi noticed before and, after opening it, Rei offered it to his guest.

“Ah…” Eichi put his hand up in protest, almost instinctively. “No thank you...but I appreciate the thought.”

“What, you not of age?”

“Oh, I am, I just...I don’t really drink.”

“Fine, your loss.” Rei shrugged and took a swig of the alcohol, making Eichi tense up at how effortless it was. While he never actually tried beer, none of his experiences with alcohol had been pleasant so he didn’t feel like giving it ago; he disliked the flavour almost as much as he disliked feeling tipsy after one drink and losing control of himself, even if he, thankfully, never made a fool of himself. “You know…” Rei continued their conversation, not noticing how the other was uncomfortable and impressed at the same time. “Exploring haunted places was fun at first but now it’s so dangerous. I never thought it would get this bad…maybe we’re not even safe in our own houses.”

“Then why not move out?” Eichi’s question was as impulsive as a drunk man’s decision. For some reason, the filter between his mind and his mouth had failed to stop the question from being spoken, leaving Eichi with a sense of dread. 

The answer came barely a second later and yet, to Eichi, that time span stretched so much that it felt like hours. Knowing fully well that he couldn’t leave, why did he ask that and potentially plant the idea in Rei’s mind? If he decided to go along with it, Eichi wouldn’t be able to go with him and all his efforts to stay as long as possible with Rei would be all for naught. His dream for the past 16 years would be smashed into pieces and he’d have no one to blame but himself.

“I can’t.”

With only two words, Eichi’s anxieties had completely vanished and he returned to his relaxed state, hoping that Rei didn’t see how pathetic he likely looked just moments ago. While he did feel a tinge of guilt, considering he was relieved by the older boy being locked in a small, haunted town, he was selfish enough to be able to brush that emotion away without thinking much of it: “...may I ask why?” he replied.

The older boy got up and walked towards the window before pulling the curtains apart to reveal the dark street they were in just a while ago. Despite the familiar sight, Eichi’s eyes are then caught by a dark mansion that he had missed before, likely due to being too low on the ground to see it peeking from the other structures. Sure, it was modest compared to his own, but it was a mansion nonetheless. Knowing that he didn’t need to point out the structure he was referring to, Rei moved on.

“That...is where my little brother is.”

“Oh?” The blond boy’s face lit up like the stars in the sky, not bothering to hide how excited the news had made him. “I never would’ve guessed that you had a little sibling! I can see why you’re such a caring person now. What’s his name?”

“Ritsu.”

“Such a pretty name...I’d love to meet him. I wonder if he’s a mini you! That would be  _ so  _ adorable…”

“Calm down. God, you can be so bothersome when you want to.” He sighed and scratched the back of his head, but it was obvious that the younger boy’s excitement made him happy from the small smile his lips formed for just one second before his expression turned sombre once again. “But no, you can’t. Even though I would like you to, my parents won’t let me.”

“Why is that?” Eichi asked, worry replacing the previous excitement that accompanied his voice.

The older boy sat back down on his spot on the sofa, but his eyes returned to the window and they stared at it longingly; perhaps it was difficult for him to tear them away from the house. “If I tell you, do you promise not to go around telling people?”

“Of course.” This time, Eichi’s promise was more sincere.

Rei takes a moment to recollect his thoughts, asking himself if he really should be unloading his history on someone he barely knew for a month. And yet, despite that, it felt like he knew him for much longer than that, considering how comfortable he was with him. Though he did wonder for a short while whether it was because of those adventures they had or because of something else, he decided not to mull it over, at least for now.

When he was ready, he began his story:

“My family has... some weird cult going on and to put it simply, they think my brother is some sort of being to be feared and worshipped, like the antichrist. I was a “failed” attempt so I’m free to go out and what whatever but he is forced to be locked up in a cage like some zoo attraction…” he paused to drink, finishing it off in one big gulp, and then placed the empty bottle onto the wooden table. Talking about something like this was incredibly difficult for him, but he decided to press on: _ ‘Might as well finish what I started.’ _ “How can I go around the world doing what I please when someone I’m supposed to be there for is being held up in this haunted place.” No matter what he did, he could never be free from his family as long as Ritsu was still in there. “I thought those bastards were all bark and no bite but maybe all this crap is thanks to them…”

“Rei, I…” Eichi’s heart hurt so much he couldn't stand it. “I understand I only found out about this now, but I want to help you accomplish that. We can even go now if you wanted!”

“What?” Rei asked as if he just heard the most ridiculous thing in the world, but that didn’t put off Eichi.

“I believe in us.” he grabbed the other’s hands a little too forcefully, completely forgetting that this would go against this attempt to keep Rei by his side in his attempt to impress his crush. “There’s no need to hesitate; we’ve done this before successfully, so surely we can do it again! We’ll be able to save your brother and-”

“You think this is just child’s play?” Rei angrily interrupts him with an expression that would make any weak willed person run away. “Going up against them isn’t some fun challenge, these people are  _ insane _ . They’ll gladly kill any trespassers without batting an eye. I’ve…” he closes his eyes, struggling to talk as he remembered his traumatic memory “I’ve seen it. They...they took…” he stops when he hears his voice crack, not wanting to appear too weak in front of someone who’s supposed to be able to depend on him. Only after composing himself did he continue: “Sure, maybe we’ll need to break in to fix this shithole, but honestly? I ain’t even sure if it’s worth it...they’ll punish Ritsu when they find out that he tried to escape...if he hasn’t been brainwashed into saying that is.”

When Rei is frustrations have all been let out, the room falls into an uncomfortable silence. Eichi wants to talk so desperately to talk them out of this atmosphere and he starts hoping that he could just say something, anything, but he can’t. He has no idea how to respond to that. He was so excited to help, to  _ please  _ Rei that he didn’t realise that there had to be a reason as to why Rei couldn’t simply waltz in and rescue Ritsu like a knight from the storybooks.

What he did realise, however, was that they were still holding hands. So rather than using a verbal apology, Eichi brought one of the other’s hands to his lips and kissed them. Maybe this action was way too forward, especially since their relationship was still platonic and in its early stages, but he couldn’t help it: he loved him that much.

Unexpectedly, Rei didn’t pull his hands away. Instead, after a moment of hesitation, he moved his hand to cup Eichi’s rosy cheek. It was as soft and as warm as Rei imagined it, if not more. He wonders when was the last time he did something like this, an action so simple yet so intimate. When he moved out momentarily to go to university, his relationships were so emotionless and casual that being this affectionate with someone else was something he had long forgotten to the point it became alien. But he didn’t mind the unfamiliarity, he would gladly bask in it if it meant he could feel Eichi’s warmth for a while longer.

“Hey.” he smiled as his thumb tenderly caressed the other’s cheek. “I could use a lie down. You comin’?” his tone was too innocent to mean anything beyond cuddling, but to Eichi that was just fine. After standing up, he intertwined their fingers for the first time ever. Unlike the other times they’ve held hands, they’re not doing it due to a fear of separation, but out of a desire to express how much they mean to each other. He then got up from the sofa to lead his companion into his small bedroom, where the blond boy started looking around. As he entered, he noticed a double-sized bed and posters of bands, some he never even heard of, decorating the walls. In his head, he imagined the kind of music each of them would play and came to the conclusion that Rei enjoyed rock and things that were borderline metal, but nothing as extreme as screamo or death metal. He then made a mental note to listen to them later to see how accurate he was. His eyes then guided him towards the corner of the room where an old record player surrounded by various discs sat on a small table. Immediately, Eichi was drawn towards it and before he knew it, he had picked up the discs and was examining their sleeves, realising that the artists were different than the bands he saw before. As he looked through the vintage records, he noticed a generation leap, as some seemed to be from the 1970s and 80s, while the youngest disc from before those times was one from the 40s.

“Interested, are ya? That was my mother’s record player,” Rei tells him after sensing his curiosity. His voice sounds pleased like he’s boasting about a family treasure. “Pretty old but it’s still going strong. It can even play gran’s records…”

“It seems like it’s in pretty good quality too, you’ve really taken good care of it.” The younger boy laughs, turning Rei’s face a little red, but he doesn’t say anything in protest. Eichi then sees a record that seemed to be untouched in a long time and picks it up to examine it. The sleeve, ironically, stood out because of how simple it looked compared to the other ones; the front had the artist’s name, which was likely a stage name, in a simple font while the back had just a few songs with titles that were short, but intriguing nonetheless. The words “synth-pop” were written in the corner and Eichi immediately recognised it as a music genre that he had heard people talk about, but never actually took the time to look to it.

“Um…I was wondering if I could play this one.” He lifted up the mystery record to show the older boy. “I’ve never listened to this genre before, it would be an entirely new experience for me.”

His partner paused for a second, taken aback by the record in front of him and he felt a nostalgic feeling rise up inside his chest. “That...was Ritsu’s favourite.”

The blond boy pulled it down slightly and revealed a concerned expression. “I suppose that’s a “no” then?”

However, the other boy chuckled in response. “I just haven’t had the guts to listen to that in a while.” But maybe now that he was with someone else, the heartache caused by long lost memories wouldn’t be as painful. “Sure, knock yourself out.” His reply fills Eichi’s eyes with excitement and after he spent some time figuring it out, he puts the vinyl record on the player and switches it on.

While many would label the song as old, Eichi considered it as recent as a song released yesterday. After all, he usually listened to composers whose flesh had been completely stripped from the number of centuries their corpses spent rotting, so old to him meant hour-long symphonies performed by real people and not computers. But despite his peers, he wasn’t arrogant about it and he found himself appreciating the new, “fake” instruments the computer had in its orchestra. “I see why this was dear to his heart,” he said, moving towards the double-bed so he could sit down. “Despite its sombre tone, it has an ability to comfort the listener, like how one finds solace when someone else understands their pain. It’s the perfect song to listen to when one feels sorrow.” And considering his position, Ritsu must’ve been very familiar with that state of mind.

Not wanting to think about something so depressing, Eichi turned his attention to the bed and ran his hand on the blanket to feel its soft texture. Though it was worlds cheaper than what he was used too, it felt almost as nice as the one at home.

“It’s small compared to other double beds since...I didn’t think I’d be sharing it with anyone when I bought it.” Rei commented while he watched the boy make himself comfortable; he was

“That’s fine.” Eichi patted the free space beside him like he was inviting Rei onto his own bed. “I wanted to be close to you anyway.”

“Oh, how coy of you.” The older boy playfully replied, all too happy to take Eichi’s offer. As he lay down, he realised that their foreheads were almost touching and, seeing it as an opportunity, he moved in to nuzzle Eichi and make their foreheads meet, earning a giggle from the younger boy.

“Why, if Mr.Vampire wants to bestow upon me his rare affection, I have no choice but to gladly accept.” he wraps his arms around Rei and pulls their bodies a little closer together, happy that he was finally able to hold him in his arms after 16 years of being lovesick.

It was kind of funny how Rei likely didn’t think much of that encounter and he didn’t even realise that Eichi was the child he helped out of the woods so long ago, but Eichi couldn’t blame him; he had changed a lot during those years. Still, the memory of Rei saving him from the solitude and fear of being lost in the forest became his most precious memory and after years of praying for their reunion, there they were, lying in the same bed showing love to each other. Not only did they reunite, but they were so compatible that they were able to revive a spark that Eichi had feared was long gone. Though their current situation made seldom the most ideal reconciliation, he was still grateful for fate bringing them together, even if it cost the whole town. There’s no doubt that it was a selfish thought, but he couldn’t care less when Rei was right there, looking at him with a tender and loving expression. 

Eichi would gladly give the whole universe away if it meant they could stay like this forever.

Suddenly, a yawn interrupted their sweet moment and a wave of shame washed over the blond boy when he realised that it belonged to him. “My deepest apologies. It seems that our shenanigans today have taken all my energy. Ah, how disappointing, I wanted to give my love to you a while longer…”

“Hey, don’t worry about it.” Thankfully, Rei didn’t seem bothered at all. Instead, he moved in to kiss the other boy’s forehead and a memory from 16 years ago of this exact gesture came into Eichi’s mind; he had almost forgotten how comforting Rei’s soft lips were. “I was thinking of hitting the hay too.”

“Alright, in that case...until tomorrow, my dear vampire.” He closed his eyes and, already, could feel himself slipping away. As long as he could remain by Rei’s side, he didn’t mind letting tonight escape his clutches, especially when he was sure that there would be more wonderful nights like this just waiting to happen.

“...Goodnight, my angel.” Rei’s voice is the last thing he hears before he drifts off and, like a blessing, it warded the nightmares away in favour of bringing only the sweetest of dreams.

**Author's Note:**

> btw this fic was largely inspired by Mrs Santello's Old Records from the night in the woods soundtrack! and yeah the game is also one of the main inspirations for the au as a whole.


End file.
